Stainless restaurant table as bench/welding table?

[isaac338]

I was welding something on the floor last night in an attempt to avoid lighting my wooden workbench on fire, and I realized I really need a metal bench.

There's a guy locally selling a stainless restaurant table, 3' square, for $100. Not a bad price.

Is there any reason not to use this as a bench? I know it's got a thin top but other than that it seems like a good cheap way to get my metal work off the floor and not light things on fire...

 

[waltmcq]

I'm sure some will come up with all sorts of reasons but if I had room I'd buy it. For a 100 bucks it seems like a quick cheap answer for now.

 

[Tscott]

It will work, but it won't be perfect. The metal they use can be pretty thin and it can be dented pretty easily. I would be worried about blowing a hole through it with a torch or plasma. Dents will definitely be a problem if you are gonna pound on it. All the best welding tables I have seen have had a 1/4" or better steel plate for a top. You couldn't dent them and they were thick enough you could hardly burn through one on accident. You could also weld stuff to the table to construct jigs and bending forms. I know you can weld regular steel to stainless, but I think the heat makes it very brittle. May still be worth it as a tear down table or something like that.

Tom

 

[spy604]

It will work, but it won't be perfect. The metal they use can be pretty thin and it can be dented pretty easily. I would be worried about blowing a hole through it with a torch or plasma. Dents will definitely be a problem if you are gonna pound on it. All the best welding tables I have seen have had a 1/4" or better steel plate for a top. You couldn't dent them and they were thick enough you could hardly burn through one on accident. You could also weld stuff to the table to construct jigs and bending forms. I know you can weld regular steel to stainless, but I think the heat makes it very brittle. May still be worth it as a tear down table or something like that.

Tom

Also, the SS wont be magnetic, so take that into consideration too.

 

[wnstwolf]

I have one and it works but limited.
Specs:

6' long with intergrated 6" rolled backsplash on 3 sides hels rigidity tremendously

As mentioned they are thin 16 gauge or so I have mine over a reinforced 2x frame

not magnetic and impacts layout work..

Not a great conductor but I have a stud welded on it for a ground and it works ok

will turn this into a work bench once I get to the 1/4" steel top welding bench
would love another and at $100 it is a good deal in scrap alone

sorry no pics yet but soon...

 

[TurboBlog]

I think this sounds like a good deal, as long as the top is one of the thicker ones. It won't be as strong or useful as a purpose built welding table, but will be OK for light duty work.

I recently picked up two 6'x3' stainless prep tables off of craigslist with plans on using them as workbenches. A restaurant was closing and the seller gave me a good deal on both of them. I chose these two tables (over the others he had) because of the bench top thickness and the backsplash, which seemed to add strength and rigidity. The others he had were made of a much thinner steel and were easily dented and flexible.

As standalone tables, they'll be a bit wobbly unless I weld some reinforcements to the legs, bolt it to the wall, or just use the stainless table top only on a stronger steel frame. Either way, I googled the part numbers and the tops alone were over $700 new each.

By the way, this forum is crazy. Half the time I'm coming here with some searches in mind and someone has already posted the exact question or topic. Weird!

 

[Fastback]

I have a stainless top lab table, but I get a sunburn easier with my TIG because of reflections. I have since made it a paint mix table.